title: Development of a standardized procedure for testing the efficacy of workplace cleansers.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Occupational skin cleansing is a risk factor for cumulative irritant dermatitis. Standardized methods are required to assess the cleaning efficacy of occupational skin cleansers, allowing us to choose the optimal cleanser with minimal irritation for specific workplaces.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To develop a standardized procedure for testing the cleaning efficacy of occupational skin cleansers.
  
  
  METHODS
  In this single-blind, randomized, monocentric clinical trial in 24 healthy volunteers, the cleaning efficacy of generic reference cleansers was assessed against standardized test dirts. The test procedure included standardized dirt application, standardized washing with an automated skin cleaning device, and quantification of the cleaning efficacy by chromametry. For two cleansers, reproducibility of the cleaning efficacy assessment was studied. Furthermore, the performance of two cleansers was compared with that of commercial skin cleansers.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Cleaning factors ranged from 12% up to 97% for the respective model dirts. A high reproducibility of the washing and the assessment procedure could be shown. The comparison of the washing efficacies for two reference cleansers with those of commercial cleansers showed partly similar performances, but also a higher cleaning efficacy for some dirts of the reference cleansers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The testing procedure proved to be applicable to a wide spectrum of cleansers and model dirts.
authors.affiliation: Department of Dermatology, University Hospital Jena, Erfurter Strasse 35, D-07743 , Jena, Germany.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Elsner
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Seyfarth
authors.forename: Flora
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Sonsmann
authors.forename: Swen-Malte
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: John
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Diepgen
authors.forename: Sibylle
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Schliemann
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D057005:Bioengineering; D017453:Dermatitis, Irritant / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009783:Dermatitis, Occupational / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006229:Hand Dermatoses / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D006235:Hand Disinfection / Q000379:methods*; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006801:Humans; D008875:Middle Aged; D011786:Quality Control; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D016037:Single-Blind Method; D017592:Skin Care / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D012915:Soaps / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000592:standards*; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D012915:Soaps
keywords: dermatitis; efficacy testing; occupational prevention; occupational skin cleanser; test dirt; workplace soiling